Micro-oxygenate!

In the film Mondovino, the highly paid French wine consultant Michel Rolland was flown to all corners of the wine world just so he could tell his clients to “Micro-oxygenate”. When asked what it was, his reply was simply that if he told us, we wouldn’t need him. Thus the mystery, “What is micro-oxygenation?”

In the early 1990s, Madiran winemaker Patric Ducournau developed micro-oxygenation in South Western France to help solve problems with Tannat-based wines. Tannat is a red grape with tough tannins that needs to be oak aged to soften the tannins. Producers using stainless steel tanks found the grape difficult to work with.

An oak barrel will allow small amounts of oxygen through to the wine and soften tannins. This softening is not possible in stainless steel. The technique builds optimum structure, reduces herbaceous or vegetal characters, and stabilizes color.

The equipment is simple in concept. Bubble up oxygen through the wine. The process as it turns out, is more delicate than that. But not that much. Let’s take the mystery out of this topic. During primary fermentation, the yeast is exposed to lots of oxygen to keep the fermentation process going. This is macro-oxygenation. Immediately after alcoholic fermentation, the winemaker begins the micro-oxygenation. The equipment uses special ceramic bubblers placed in the bottom of the tank create tiny bubbles. The flow and bubble size are adjusted so that the bubbles dissolve in the tank before they reach the top. This allows the winemaker to simulate the oxygenation process during barrel aging. See The Science of Wine from Vine to Glass by Jamie Goode, University of California Press.

Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? It depends on you philosophy about wine. If you believe that wine is a product of nature and you enjoy exploring the marriage of grape and wood, then you may frown upon this intervention. If you feel that producers should make the best wine possible by any means disposable, then this technique if for you.

Now that you’re in the know, watch Mondovino. And when in doubt, “Micro-oxygenate!”

The Evil Empire

We decided to watch Mondovino again to see if we could stay awake this time now that we are earnest students of wine. We rented it the first time a few years ago (right after Sideways) because Netflix said that people who liked Sideways also enjoyed Mondovino (lol). The biggest impact it had on us after our first viewing was to steer us away from Mondavi wine (not that we were buying Mondavi before we watched it).

The viewpoint of the film-maker is very compelling. Of course, he has a very definite viewpoint which colors the portrayal of certain characters in the film (IMHO) so I took it with a grain of salt. The American wine-makers featured in Mondovino were cast in an unflattering light which highlighted their corporate-profit-maximizing-at-the-expense-of-culture bent. Among the soiled were Mondavi (Robert, and sons), representatives of Wine Spectator, Robert Parker (to some extent), some damn American stealing grapes from a vine in Bordeaux, and the Francobaldi family. The impression of Napa that you get from this film is one of vacuous, soulless people who are single-handedly destroying the very soul of wine (not saying it isn't true in some cases). While, I don't think that making money as a wine-maker is intrinsically evil, I definitely came away with a lot of admiration for the French vintners (oh, they make $, I'm sure) that were featured.

One observation that I believe was made in the film, is that there is more Catholic guilt associated with making money in France that sways some of the prejudices you see there. I don't know if that's true but, it's an interesting idea. I wouldn't want to see vineyards that go back for generations, in a village that actually manages to hold on to it's bucolic charm bull-dozed to put up a Mondavi billboard no matter how many shares of MOND I owned.

Favorite quote from Mondovino: "micro-oxygenate!" (haha! I like to tease Taster A by telling him I'm going to ask if they micro-oxygenate next time we go to a winery)

Read an interesting interview with film-maker and sommelier Jonathan Nossiter.